Front wheel removal

[bfloyd]

My car (3294) has been sitting since 1995 before I bought it in November of 2014. Today I decided to check out what shape the brakes are while I've got the rest of the car torn apart waiting for new parts to arrive.
Jacked it up, set it down on jack stands and removed the 4 lug nuts from the right front wheel. I thought as soon as I removed the last lug nut the wheel would come loose. Nope.... It won't budge. I've tried banging on it with a piece of wood and a hammer from the back side, but it won't move. Any suggestions? It can't be that hard....

[PJ Grady Inc.]

It's corroded onto the hub and actually can sometimes be quite difficult to break free. Get a big hammer and smack the tire not the wheel until if breaks free. You may need a BIG hammer but don't damage the tire sidewall. Use a 2 by 4 to cushion the blows.

Rob Grady


My car (3294) has been sitting since 1995 before I bought it in November of 2014. Today I decided to check out what shape the brakes are while I've got the rest of the car torn apart waiting for new parts to arrive.
Jacked it up, set it down on jack stands and removed the 4 lug nuts from the right front wheel. I thought as soon as I removed the last lug nut the wheel would come loose. Nope.... It won't budge. I've tried banging on it with a piece of wood and a hammer from the back side, but it won't move. Any suggestions? It can't be that hard....

[DMCMW Dave]

It's corroded onto the hub and actually can sometimes be quite difficult to break free. Get a big hammer and smack the tire not the wheel until if breaks free. You may need a BIG hammer but don't damage the tire sidewall. Use a 2 by 4 to cushion the blows.

Rob Grady

If it's been sitting since 1994, damaging the tire sidewall is the least of his worries! :)

[bfloyd]

If it's been sitting since 1994, damaging the tire sidewall is the least of his worries! :)

Yeah, not really worried about damaging these original 1981 tires. I've sprayed rust release penetrate through the lug nut holes, and along the back side of the wheel. The car supposedly only has 8627 miles on it, and these tires ( although 30+ years old) still look remarkablely good. They are on my list to replace, but way at the bottom of the list.

[PJ Grady Inc.]

I meant that not for this particular car as the tires are obviously shot but rather for anyone following these directions that may have good tires fitted but point taken!


If it's been sitting since 1994, damaging the tire sidewall is the least of his worries! :)

[David T]

I meant that not for this particular car as the tires are obviously shot but rather for anyone following these directions that may have good tires fitted but point taken!

Before you go swinging a big hammer and hit a lot of expensive parts another method is to get a long 2 X 4 and lever it against the suspension and try to pry the wheel off. You may have to rotate the wheel as you do it and work it off taking several "bites" till it comes free. You do NOT want to bend the rim. Make sure you have removed all 4 lug nuts before you try to remove the wheel. Figure on rebuilding the brake and clutch systems, the old brake fluid has corroded the insides. Try to save the rotors.

[Jonathan]

It's corroded onto the hub and actually can sometimes be quite difficult to break free. Get a big hammer and smack the tire not the wheel until if breaks free. You may need a BIG hammer but don't damage the tire sidewall. Use a 2 by 4 to cushion the blows.

Rob Grady

Whack from the backside or the front?

If you just need to "break the seal" so to speak, would hitting it from the outside, lower half, 2x4 in place, such that whacking low might free up the top portion and let you get the start you need, help to free it up? From a leverage point of view that is. I know trying to get under a car on stands and not having your normal free range of motion won't let you put that much oomph into your whacking.

Put this one in the "whacking off" how-to. ;)

EDIT: haha, what ^Dave just said instead :)

[Rich_NYS]

When I used to work in my Dad's garage, I had to deal with this alot (a lot of corrosion issues in NYS.)

In case you don't have a BMF hammer, usually a hard "Patrick Swayze knee-breaking side-kick" on the lowest part of the tire (from either side) works well.

[bfloyd]

One trip to Lowes - new 4lb sledge hammer, liberal amounts of PB blaster shot through the fins of the wheel and another shot or two through the lug nut holes and the first front wheel is off.

Thank you all for your help! Now that the wheel is off, Dave S. Was right..... the least of my worries are the tires.